What if: The crucial moments from the last 3 World Cup finals were a little different?

South Africa 2010: Robben misses one on one against Casillas

Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas (R) saves Robben's Strike

Apart from Real Madrid, where he was not at his prolific best, he was certainly revered for his contributions at Bayern Munich, Chelsea and PSV Eindhoven. His exploits with his country will never be forgotten with the Bayern Munich winger at his influential best in taking his country to the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup and the final of the 2010 World Cup. Perhaps, it is unfair to state that Arjen Robben is a big game bottler. The Dutch winger has been one of the most consistent players for both his clubs and his country in the last decade.

However, the fact that he earned his big game bottler tag was due to his miss against Casillas in the 2010 World Cup Final. It has often been said that in the big games, for a forward, the ideal scenario is when he has the least time to think about what he has to do next.

Hence, in the 62nd minute, when Sneijder put Robben through with an exquisite pass, maybe, he had too much time to think about what to do next. To be fair, he was facing one of the best goalkeepers at that time Iker Casillas and the Spanish goalkeeper did the right thing by not committing too early.

Robben sent Casillas the wrong way but the then Real Madrid captain was able to divert the ball with his legs. Chance missed and Robben was in agony.

In fact, 20 minutes later, Van Persie's header put through Robben again, although this time it was his pace against Puyol that helped him reach the ball first ahead of the former Barcelona man. This was not as clear-cut as the earlier chance because Puyol made sure he was never comfortable on the ball so as to put away a shot.

All Robben had to do was fall as a result of the excessive force used by Puyol and that would have given the Spanish defender the marching orders and a free kick for the Dutch. Maybe, just, maybe, in the heat of the moment, Robben, so often mocked for his diving, wanted to compensate for his earlier miss.

The game went into extra time with Iniesta then giving Spain their first ever World Cup victory with a sublime finish. Robben may have had his revenge in 2014 with the iconic image of him teasing Casillas for Netherland's 5th goal etched into the memory of football fans. But nothing would compensate for a World Cup victory, would it?